C-A-L-I-F-O-R-N-I-A

My family and us (minus Bryan and Eliza, they were busy having a child!) all took a trip to San Diego the other week. We stayed in a Beach House in La Jolla area. It was so much fun. We definitley didn't want to leave. The house we stayed in was just a couple blocks away from the beach and it had just enough room for all of us.


Boogy boarding was the favorite on the beach. Even Madalyn got some in! Erik liked body boarding better. Apparantly he's too good for the boards. :)


My poor dad. He tried so hard to catch those waves. :) The good thing is, he didn't end up a failure! We'll say he caught at least one good one! :) Just kidding Dad.
Basically we did the beach thing all day everyday!!! What could be better?! Then at night we'd walk around the shops and stuff.




One of my favorite days was when Grandma and Grandpa took Madalyn to the zoo and Erik and I were able to hang out at the beach by ourselves. Scott, Jacqueline, and Amanda all went to Sea World that day. I loved just hanging out on the beach without having to worry about Madalyn wondering off or anything.
It took Madalyn a couple days to get used to the beach. The first beach we went to had some pretty big waves and I think they scared her a little, and then there was seaweed all over the beach which she would try and walk all around it. It was pretty funny. Towards the end of the week she was walking out to the water by herself and being able to play in the waves with mommy and daddy and enjoy them.



She really liked playing with the sand though. The one good thing about her being a little more causoius at the beach then at the regular pool is she wouldn't go running off by herself. Pretty much she would stay by us and the towels the whole time. Lucky us!



We all got really fried the first day on the beach...apparantly we didn't take into account that being in the sun the WHOLE day would burn us? Who knows! So the next day we took a little more precaution. Hence the turban on Erik's head.


One afternoon we all took a kawayking trip down by La Jolla shores. That was pretty neat. We got to Kawayk along the shore there and go through some caves up against it. We saw quite a bit of animals that trip also. I did however get a little sea sick on the kawayk. What a woose I know. Overall it was a very fun trip and Erik and I are wanting to turn it into a yearly adventure. :)

Who's grateful they WEREN'T a pioneer?!

In honor of pioneer weekend we thought we'd take a little hike....with Madalyn! We borrowed Erik's brother's backpack to put Madalyn in. We tried to prepare her and put her in it at home a few times and she thought it was pretty cool. Just like the first twentyish minutes of our hike! :) And that was IT for her. She wanted nothing else to do with that backpack. We chose to hike up to Stewart Falls...which shouldn't be that long of a hike...unless of course you are walking with an 17 month girl who stops every foot to smell the flowers, weeds, whatever she can find and to play in the dirt. Needless to say we turned around about a half-hour after she gave up on the backpack and unfortunatly didn't even make it to Stewart Falls. The only thing that kept her happy on the hike down was to let her suck on my camelback. That little girl drank almost the whole thing. At least we didn't have to worry about her getting dehydrated in the heat. :) So after that adventure we've decided we're grateful for the pioneers, but that's it. We don't in the least bit wish we could have ever been one. If we were, I don't think I would have had children, so I'm glad I wasn't.

4th of July Weekend!

My whole family came to visit for the holiday weekend. Bryan and Eliza were even able to come as they just returned from Chicago the week before. Unfortunatly, Scott and Jacqueline went to Texas for the weekend, so they missed out on all the fun with us. :( It was great to have them here. We had a lot of fun. On the 4th we had a BBQ at Erik's Mom's house. It was fun to see all the kids play together. The biggest hit was Grandma's coffee table in the living room. They all thought it was so much fun to jump off it.



Grandma with her two little granddaughters


Before going to see fireworks we let the girls run through the sprinklers. Although this picture doesn't look like they're having fun. They really did, this was just a brief moment of confusion. :) I really liked the picture though.


That night we went up to Rock Canyon Park to watch the fireworks. We decided they would be a lot cooler to watch from inside the stadium, but it was still fun. And thanks to Meeko, our dog, we collected a few more kids throughout the night. Here's us having some fun while waiting for the fireworks to start.


Can't you tell we all loved getting our picture taken then!



HOW CUTE!!! Despite the occasional fighting, these girls really do love eachother.


Saturday was a fun-filled day. We started our morning off with a nice run up the canyon. That's one of my favorite things to do in summer...run up the canyon...it's so pretty up there and nothing feels better then the feeling after you've gone running. We then took the kids swimming at Scera pool. Bryan and Eliza didn't come. I guess being 8 months pregnant and sitting in the hot hot sun didn't sound all that exciting to Eliza. :) I don't blame her. The girls had a lot of fun. And the slide was by far the greatest hit!




We then took everyone and went up the canyon, built a fire and roasted hot dogs and smores. Although the hot dogs and smores were delicious, the hot fire didn't help cool us down one bit. :) The two girls were so cute, we set them next to eachother in their strollers and let them eat there. Keeping them contained didn't last long though.



Both Madalyn and Kambria found the sand in the volleyball pits. They had a lot of fun in it, but once they found the fountain and then went back to the sand, that's when things got messy. :) Don't we all wish everything was as exciting to us as it is to little kids?!




Overall we had a really fun time. Erik and I love it when my family comes. We always have a great time. We can't wait until we all go to California in August. And of course the little girls love their grandparents.


I guess you could say they love their Aunt Amanda also:)

Madalyn Marie Freeman!

Picture me saying her name with some sternness...and saying it A LOT! That's all I've seemed to be doing lately. Madalyn is still the biggest sweetheart, but she is getting a little more personality...or maybe an "attitude". :) NO! She's been saying quite a few words for a while now, but just lately she has found that her two favorite words are "NO" and "MINE". Not my little sweetheart I know. She's also started this screaming thing, well more like grawling, when she gets upset and she shakes her fists real hard. It is actually quite funny though and it's hard for Erik and I to not laugh as she does it. She's still cuter than ever though. She is becoming quite the good helper also. I just need to get her some utensils her own size so her help can be a little more productive.



Madalyn still loves playing IN....


ON....


and with anything.


Since all the flowers are out now, Madalyn has found she loves to smell them. She'll rip them out of the ground too if that's what it takes.



Mommy was so proud the other day because I was able to get all of Madalyn's hair up in pigtails! YES! That is quite the accomplishment.

Happy Father's Day?!

Erik is an awesome husband and a wonderful Dad. Especially since I've started working he has done more then his fair share around the house. I had to work the night before Father's Day and the night of Father's day and also had to go to all three hours of church because the primary was singing in sacrament meeting....and so we celebrated Father's Day that Friday and Saturday since we knew I would me sleeping as much as possible on Sunday...although it was still only a few hours BLAH! I felt so bad that I couldn't do more for Erik, but being as great as he is...it didn't bother him a bit. Actually, you would have thought it was Mother's Day again or something. I woke up just in time to go to church and Erik had a big breakfast all ready for Madalyn and I, not to mention he basically took care of Madalyn all day also. I really take him for granted some times. I know that without so much help from him, me going back to work wouldn't work, so I'm glad he is so supportive of me and Madalyn. We LOVE him lots!!! Especially Madalyn does, "Daddy" is by far her favorite word.

Memorial Day Weekend

We spent Memorial Day Weekend in Fort Collins for Amanda's High School Graduation. Erik was able to take two days off from teaching and so we left Wednesday night. I did four shifts in a row so we could leave then and let me tell you, I will NEVER do that again. I felt so trained and sick everyday. It wasn't the funnest thing ever...but then I don't know how getting only a few hours of sleep for four days straight could be any fun. Not for work at least. I'm glad I did though because we were able to spend more time with my family, which we always love. We got there late Wednesday night and then Thursday was quite a day. The weather was awful and there were tornadoes all around Fort Collins. Windsor, which is about 10-15 minutes southeast of Fort Collins got hit pretty bad and I guess there a few other tornadoes North and South of Fort Collins, but none hit Fort Collins. Very lucky considering how close they all were. The schools were all on lock-down for the afternoon and most all businessess shut down. It was crazy, I had never been in such a threat of a tornado before. I always thought that places close to mountains were safe from them. Apparantly not. Although we were very glad we were all safe, the weather did keep us from doing much of anything during the day.

Friday we had Amanda's graduation party. I tell you, high school graduation parties in Fort Collins are like weddings. EVERYONE has one and they ALL have to be this huge event. It was fun for me as a senior because you get to go from party to party and eat everyone's food and see all your friends all day, but for the parents, it's a little stressful. The weather was still not so great that night, but it didn't rain...and there were NO tornadoes! YEA!!! :) Amanda and her friend Heidi had their parties combined and they did it at Heidi's house. It turned out to be fun, although Erik knew about NOONE! He got good food though, so he couldn't complain.

Amanda and Heidi at Graduation Party


Madalyn enjoying the fountain at her party. (There was also a chocolate fountain there....always a hit anywhere)


Madalyn loves her Aunt Amanda!!


Saturday was the graduation ceremony. Those are always LOADS of fun!!! Especially with a 15 month old. Erik and I went out with Madalyn at least 6 times during the thing...and to make it even better we were basically sitting at the very top row of the gymnasium. That's what family is for though right? To support us in EVERYTHING! Okay, so it wasn't that bad, I guess. :) It sure made me feel old though. If I feel old, I can't imagine what my parents feel right now? :) There youngest, graduating high school, going to college. WUH! I guess that explains my dad's gray hair. :)

Amanda in her whole shibang!



This face depicts exactly how Madalyn felt about sitting through an 1 1/2 graduation ceremony. :)




So this is what happens when I leave Madalyn alone with Grandma and Grandpa?! :)

Happy Mother's Day -- TO ME!

I'd say this Mother's Day was pretty good. I worked on Saturday and when I got home Erik had dinner all ready on the table for us. Waffles with peanut butter and syrup..one of my favorites! He said he knew Sunday would be busy so he wanted to do something for me that night. I walked in our bedroom to change and there was a huge present all neatly wrapped sitting on our bed. Those of you who know Erik, neatly and wrapped aren't things he does. :) He really wanted me to open it right then and there, but I told him I wanted to wait until Mother's Day to open it. I probably should have opened it then because Sunday got so busy that I didn't even get around to opening it until late Sunday night. Erik let me sleep in a little on Sunday, at least as much as I could. Ever since I started working I treasure my sleep--since I don't get much of it, but Madalyn wanted her Mommy up so I was up. We went to our church and then my cousins Brett and Kim Hornberger were both having their farewells and so we went to their ward and heard them speak...then had to go back to our ward so I could lead the music in Primary (that's my new calling in the ward..BLAH!) and then we went back over to the Hornberger's for dinner then had to leave early to go up to Erik's Mom's house for another dinner and to celebrate Mother's Day there and Max's birthday. Whew. We finally got home around 9 and Erik made me open my present before we even got in the house basically. He was really excited about it apparantly.

So here's what I got for "MOTHER"S DAY"...






YES, a punching bag!!!!! SUCH an Erik gift! :) Now funny thing is I've wanted a punching bag for awhile now and thought that it would be really fun, and a more productive way to release some of my energy instead of taking it all out on Erik, but I was never expecting it for Mother's Day. It's just not the typical Mother's Present I guess. But I love it nonetheless. Madalyn was even enjoying punching it and kicking it. The only problem was she coudln't lift it up. She was getting very frustrated in the fact that she couldn't drag it around the house. Poor thing. :)
Anyway, Erik was great to me this Mother's Day. He's an awesome husband and wonderful Dad. I'm so grateful he's been so supportive of me going back to work. I think Madalyn's starting to become a Daddy's girl now, I'm okay with that. In the long run I'll still be the favorite to our kids because Daddy won't share his ice cream with them but Mommy will. :)


I don't think I fully recognized everything my own Mom does for me and my family until I became a mother myself. Having a daughter of my own now, I understand what a huge part of my life she is and am amazed at the amount of love you can have for such a tiny little person. She's everything to me right now and it makes me feel so bad for all the things I put my mother through as a child...mostly teenager. I guess it takes having a child of your own to realize just how much they do care for you and worry about you when they're not with you. I think about Madalyn all the time when I'm at work and hope she's doing okay without me. Especially when she's with her Daddy, I know she's okay, but the fact that I'm not with her still makes me worry. And I'm guessing that feeling isn't going to go away anytime soon. Just wait until they're teenagers and always want to be away from mommy. :( That's what makes mothers so great. Their ability to love UNCONDITIONALLY! What would we do without them?
Happy Mother's Day Mom!



Obviously this picture was taken awhile ago. :)